Improvement in hydro-steam engines



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI E.

IMPROVEMENT IN HYDRO-STEAM ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 135,024, dated January21, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB WIDMER, of Bristol, in the county of Hartfordand State of Connecticut, have invented certain Improvements inHydro-Steam Engines, of which the following is a specification:

The first part of my invention consists of the combination of asteam-chest, cylinders, pistons, pipe, and water-chest, arranged tooperate with steam in the cylinders upon one side of said pistons andwater upon the other side of the same pistons; and, second, of thecombination of abovesaid parts with a waterwheel and tank or reservoir,as hereafter described.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is avertical section of an enginewhich embodies my invention, the plane of section being indicated byline 3 3 Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a similar section of the same on line as a;of Fig. 3; and Fig. 3 is a plan or top view of the same.

A designates a steam-chest, which receives its supply of steam throughthe pipe a. This steam-chest is mounted centrally between and above twocylinders B B, as shown, and the cylinders B B are mounted upon awaterchest, 0. The water-chest is provided with valves b b 1) b and thecylinders are pro vided with pistons D D, which pistons are connected byan oscillating walking-beam, E. At one side of the parts above named isa water-tank F, (see Fig. 3,) surmounting which is a water-wheel, G,Fig. 2. This wheel may be of any of the ordinary styles now in commonuse. The'water-chest U and water-tank F are nearly filled with water, asshown, when the steam is admitted to the steam-chest A, and enters oneof the cylinders B, forcing the piston D therein downward, as shown atthe left in Fig. 1. The downward movement of the piston D forces thewater under it out of the cylinder, and presses it into the waterchest0. The valves are so hung, as shown, that the force of the water thusforced downward will close the valve 12 and b and open the valve 11 andtherefore the water will escape through the pipe (1, as indicated bydarts in Fig. 1, and be forced through said pipe and upon the Wheel G,and then fall into the tank F.

It will be observed that, the pistons D D being connected by awalking-beam, one piston must necessarily move upward while the oppositeone is forced downward. When the left-hand piston moves down and theother upward, the valve 1) will open and allow the water to flow fromthe tank F through the conductor 0, and fill the space below the piston,as shown at the right in Fig. 1. When the piston at the right reachesthe lower end of the cylinder the cut-off operates to throw the steamupon the right-hand piston and force it down, when the-valves willoperate as before described-to wit, valve 1) will open and valves b andb will be closed, so that the water can only escape through the pipedthe different pistons operating in like manner alternately andrepeatedly, thus forcing a constant stream of water upon the wheel, fromwhich it falls into the tank, and is used over and over indefinitely. Adriving-pulley, I, is attached to the shaft of the wheel G, for thepurpose of imparting the power from the wheel to any machinery desired.The water is thrown upon the wheel G with such force that it leaves thewheel with considerable velocity; therefore, if desired, a supplementarywheel, G, may be placed near the main wheel, to be operated by the waterthat is passing from the wheel G to the tank F.

It is obvious that the mechanism described for raising the water may beuseful for other purposes than that of feeding a water-wheel.

A few of the advantages of my invention are, that by applying the steamfirst directly upon one piston and then the other I avoid thedead-center of ordinary pumps and.

engines, and that by using steam upon one side of the piston and waterupon the other side of the piston in the same cylinder the pistonsrequire but little if any packing; and I dispense with a large amount offriction.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of the steam-chest A,cylinders B B, pistons D D, water-chest O, and pipe 01, arranged andoperating substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In combination with the subject-matter of claim 1, the water-wheel G,and its reservoir or tank F, all arranged and operating substantially asand for the purpose described.

JACOB WIDMER.

Witnesses JAMES SHEPARD, J. G. OAsE.

